Lucknow, June 20 : After a series of setbacks, the BSP cadres are now talking in hushed tones about the need for a change in leadership.

The BSP leadership has stubbornly refused to hold any brainstorming sessions while the party's vote share has touched rock bottom at 9.5 per cent in 2024 from 19.43 per cent in 2019.

The BSP has won no seats in the Lok Sabha elections and is left with just one seat in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Its status as a national party is also at risk. This is the party's worst electoral performance since its inception in 1984.

Not only did the BSP draw a blank in terms of seats, an initial review showed that the party candidates were not able even to secure the second spot in any of the 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, a party insider said.

"The party has been steadily tumbling down after the 2012 Assembly polls but Mayawati is not bothered. There has been no discussion at any level in the party and everything -- from crucial decisions about alliances to ticket distribution -- is decided by her, except the blame for the defeat. If the BSP has to survive, there is a need to effect a change in the leadership at the earliest so that we can regain lost ground in the 2027 Assembly elections," said a former party coordinator.

A former BSP MLA said that the party leadership had forced a majority of the party leaders to seek options in other parties and had expelled the remaining leaders.

"Today former BSP leaders like Lalji Varma, R.K. Chaudhary, Ram Shiromani, Babu Singh Kushwaha have been elected as Members of Parliament from the Samajwadi Party. Who drove them away from the BSP?" he asked.

The party cadres now want Mayawati's nephew Akash Anand to be brought back to a national leadership role.

"He is young, dynamic and aptly aggressive. During the campaign, he managed to strike the right chords with party cadres. If he is brought back, there may be some hope for the BSP," said a party worker.

Meanwhile, the BSP chief has sought a detailed report from all six sector coordinators across the state on the reasons for the party losing half of its vote share and its dismal performance in the recent elections.

Mayawati is likely to hold a meeting with party coordinators on June 23.